Milk Money Children’s Consignment

Affordable clothing at Milk Money Montclair.

Buying clothing for children can be an exciting time for a parent, but it can also be quite expensive and frustrating. When your two-year-old grows out of the brand new pair of pants you bought them two weeks prior, or they “accidentally” put a hole in them at the playground, this leaves you to head right back out to get a new pair and spend more money. Fortunately, Milk Money Montclair, a children’s consignment shop located at 76 Church St., is the perfect place for parents to shop for their children’s clothing during their early stages, without spending a fortune.

Milk Money Montclair has been gracing Montclair with their presence for over 10 years. Current owner and Montclair native, Kristin Maurice, recently took over last February. They sell consigned children’s clothing, gear, shoes, sporting equipment, toys and accessories and is geared towards infants through about size 14/16.

“For the most part, everything in here is strictly consignment, although I do often carry a lot of new items in the store. Recently, a couple of local boutiques stopped carrying their children’s lines and brought them to me, but they consigned them so it was kind of awesome because I was able to get brand new merchandise,” said Maurice. Maurice offers all of her clothing at a discount, and gives 50 percent off to all of the consignors that sell to her. She offers everything from second hand dresses, which are still in great condition, to brand new dresses that have been “selling like hot cakes.”

Maurice, who did not come from a background in retail prior to owning Milk Money, had always been a loyal consignment shopper. “I used to work for the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in advertisement and lived in the city, so I was a career person, and then I had kids and became a stay at home mom for a while. When the store went up for sale, I was looking for something to do locally and it worked out perfectly. It’s been so fun and I get to meet a lot of moms in the area,” said Maurice.

Being that most people have a certain “mindset” of what they plan on spending when they walk into a consignment shop, Maurice strives to make sure her clothing does not go over their ideal budget, while keeping it up to par. “I only take high-end items because there are a lot of consignment stores around here that will take anything, and I am very very picky about what I take,” said Maurice.

Milk Money’s top sellers are from brands like Crewcuts, Mini Boden, Hanna Andersson, Lilly Pulitzer and Vineyard Vines, while also selling Gap basics. “You can come in here and get a pair of pants for seven dollars and you don’t have to worry about your kid putting holes through his brand new expensive ones that they will just grow out of in a month,” said Maurice.

Maurice’s passion for the recycling aspect is what drew her to consignment and not just a regular boutique, which reflects how great of an environment Milk Money really is. “Not only do I love kids clothes, but I love the recycling aspect of the business,” said Maurice. “Kids go through so many clothes and often they don’t wear them for long because they grow out of them so fast, and it is just a perfect way to save material.”

Milk Money is also really focused on giving back to the community. At the end of every season, Maurice donates everything that she did not sell. She has been donating clothing to Wynonna’s House in Newark, N.J., for the last couple seasons, which is an organization that helps abused children. “I would say probably 90 percent of my consignors come in knowing that I am going to donate, which is why they bring their stuff to me,” said Maurice. “Sometimes the kids come to them with just the clothes on their back because they did not have a home, so they will make them a care package with clothes that are their size, and they are able to send that along with them to their new home. It makes me so happy that I can help and contribute to these kids’ lives. It truly fills me with joy, and makes it all worth it because this business is a lot of work.”

To find out more information on Milk Money Montclair, you visit their website at milkmoneylove.com, and like them on Facebook at facebook.com/MilkMoneyConsignment/.

  apparel, Milk Money Children’s Consignment